Did you wonder why your tickets for Portishead were so expensive, and for some reason the gig lasts for three days. It's because it's a festival people. Here's your guide to the other bands performing that are worth checking out.
With styles ranging from world music, to protest punk, to articulated noise, to symphonic orchestrations, there's a lot of musical diversity to be had this weekend.
As per usual, not all of it is good. Courtesy of this guide, you can ensure that you witness all the must-see bands of the festival. Imagine it as your map down a roadway that has just endured the national dog-walkers association.
Even if you count yourself a music guru, there's bound to be a fair few that have slipped through your grasp. So enjoy the guide. Stay tuned to Strange Glue for detailed coverage and photographs from the event.
| Band | Stage | Day | Time | Rating | Website | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuzz Against Junk | Centre | Fri | 17:15 - 18:00 |  |
myspace | Psychedelic Rock with flourishes of lounge music and a heavy debt to Jim Morrisson. |
| Francois Breut | Centre | Fri | 18:30 - 19:15 |  |
myspace | Stripped down Folk Rock ably fronted by a powerhouse of vocal talent. |
| Glenn Branca's New Works for Guitars | Centre | Fri | 19:45 - 20:00 | |
Band Site | Avant-garde classical music brought into the modern age. Shoegaze without the reverb. |
| Portishead | Centre | Fri | 21:20 - 22:45 |  |
myspace | If you don't know about these yet, do not pass 'go', do not spend £200. |
| John Parish | Centre | Fri | 23:15 - 00:00 | |
Site | Parish takes a holiday from being PJ Harvey sidekick to offer. Sparse, beautiful and haunting. |
| Chrome Hoof | Centre | Fri | 00:30 - 01:15 | |
myspace | Occasionally great electro fueled ensemble often bogged down by overly repetitive rhythms. |
| Silver Apples | Centre | Fri | 01:45 - 02:45 | |
Band Site | Pulsing beats provide the engine for harmonius choral tunage, replete with lush vocals. |
| Kling Klang | Pavillion | Fri | 16:30 - 17:15 | |
myspace | The sound of a dystopian future plagued by infectious melodies. |
| Sparklehorse | Pavillion | Fri | 17:45 - 18:45 | |
myspace | Grade A folk inspired Indie proving that Sparklehorse are legendary for a reason. |
| The Horrors | Pavillion | Fri | 19:15 - 20:15 |  |
myspace | Severely over-rated garage rock band who nonetheless are liable to put on a good show. |
| Thurston Moore | Pavillion | Fri | 20:45 - 22:15 | |
myspace | He was in Sonic Youth, what more can we say. Well, this.... Primo artistic entertainment. |
| Jerry Sadowitz | Reds | Fri | 23:15 - 00:15 | N/A | Site | Stand-Up Comedian and Magician who laid the tracks for the Ricky Gervais' of today. |
| Fuck Buttons | Reds | Fri | 00:45 - 01:30 | |
myspace | Sonic lovliness courtesy of ATP newest progressive/experimental signing. |
| Gonga | Reds | Fri | 02:00 - 02:45 | |
myspace | Progressive metal band who seem incapable of holding down a bass player. |
| Autolux | Centre | Sat | 15:30 - 16:30 | |
myspace | Songs so instinctual that you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. |
| GZA / Genius Performing Liquid Swords | Centre | Sat | 17:00 - 18:00 | |
myspace | Soul tinged rap from founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Heavy on the heart and mind. |
| Glenn Branca & Paranoid Critical Revolution | Centre | Sat | 18:30 - 19:30 | |
Site | Avant-garde classical music brought into the modern age. Shoegaze without the reverb. |
| Portishead | Centre | Sat | 20:50 - 22:35 | |
myspace | If you don't know about these yet, do not pass 'go', do not spend £200. |
| The Heads | Centre | Sat | 23:00 - 23:45 | |
myspace | Heady doses of psychedelic rock (get it?) Suffers from Jam Band Syndrome a little though. |
| OM | Centre | Sat | 00:15 - 01:00 | |
myspace | Down-tempo drum and bass in the strictest sense of the meaning. |
| Aphex Twin | Centre | Sat | 01:30 - 03:30 | |
Label Site | You should know what to expect from Aphex Twin by now, 'Windowlicker' live is worth the admission price alone. |
| Oneida | Pavillion | Sat | 14:00 - 15:00 | |
myspace | Imagine if The Coral were influenced by American music and you have Oneida. |
| Malcolm Middleton | Pavillion | Sat | 15:30 - 16:30 | |
myspace | Enchanting and mesmerising acoustic and orchestral indie. |
| A Hawk and a Hacksaw | Pavillion | Sat | 17:00 - 18:15 | |
myspace | World music ensemble with a penchant for banging various items in catchy rhythms. |
| Julian Cope | Pavillion | Sat | 18:45 - 20:15 |  |
myspace | Painfully dull protest rock. Proof that good intentions are not all that matters. |
| Seasick Steve | Pavillion | Sat | 20:45 - 22:15 | |
myspace | The sound of a thousand evenings spent on a porchway with an acoustic guitar contemplating life. |
| The Jukes | Reds | Sat | 12:30 - 13:00 | |
myspace | Spiritual siblings to Portishead and not sounding completely unlike them also. |
| Don Mandarin | Reds | Sat | 13:30 - 14:00 | |
N/A | Bristol folk singer, who apparently is known for his clear, crisp voice. Perfect start to the day to cure that hangover. |
| Rosie Red Rash | Reds | Sat | 14:30 - 15:00 | |
myspace | Trying desperately to sound punk, but unable to overcome their predilection to psychedelia driven rock. |
| Polar Bear | Reds | Sat | 22:35 - 23:15 | |
myspace | Lounge style Jazz which sticks closely to formula and takes few risks |
| Thought Forms | Reds | Sat | 23:45 - 00:30 | |
myspace | They have a lot in common with Amplifier, textured layered distortion overlaid with delicately picked melodies. |
| Jah Shaka Soundsystem | Reds | Sat | 01:00 - 03:30 | |
myspace | Mm mm cha ka mm mm cha ka, what's the name of that song? Oh yeah, it's every reggae song! |
| Joe Volk | Centre | Sun | 13:45 - 14:30 | |
myspace | Superior vocal talent raises the bar on soulful acoustic led compositions |
| Oren Ambarchi | Centre | Sun | 15:00 - 15:45 | |
Site | Sparse electronica which may not translate well into the live arena. |
| John Cooper Clarke | Centre | Sun | 16:15 - 17:00 | |
myspace | Not particularly clever, insightful nor original. It's punk poetry set to a beat. William Shatner would be proud. |
| Boris | Centre | Sun | 17:30 - 18:30 | |
Label Site | Metal band, who have consistently brought good LPs out. Very instrumental, expect their roadies to work overtime. |
| Earth | Centre | Sun | 19:00 - 20:00 | |
Label Site | More famous for being Kurt Cobain's best friend, this Dylan Carson led band have surprisingly stuck around with their drone metal. |
| Sunn o))) | Centre | Sun | 20:30 - 22:00 | |
myspace | One suspects standing next to seventeen overdriven electricity pylons for 20 minutes would sound like this also. |
| Crippled Black Phoenix | Centre | Sun | 22:30 - 23:30 | |
myspace | What you suspect Radiohead would sound like were they ever to be left without their laptops. |
| Team Brick | Centre | Sun | 00:00 - 00:45 | |
myspace | Mildly pretentious noise soundscapes from an artist who claims no such affiliation. |
| Aphex Twin | Centre | Sun | 01:30 - 03:30 | |
Label Site | You should know what to expect from Aphex Twin by now, 'Windowlicker' live is worth the admission price alone. |
| Lucky Luke | Pavillion | Sun | 15:00 - 15:45 | |
myspace | Like watching a Michael Bay boxset, fun for a short while but increasingly devoid of ideas and variety. |
| The Blessing | Pavillion | Sun | 16:15 - 17:00 | |
myspace | Nu-jazz. Sounds like the background music on a Amy Winehouse album, only better. |
| Damo Suzuki | Pavillion | Sun | 17:30 - 18:15 | |
Site | Used to play with Can, has appeared on several albums from established stars like Omar Rodriguez. Worth a listen. |
| Black Mountain | Pavillion | Sun | 18:45 - 20:00 | |
myspace | A must see, the Canadians psychedelic sound is haunting, expect epic greatness. |
| The Madlib Medicine Show | Pavillion | Sun | 20:30 - 22:00 | |
Site | Stones Throw'er Madlib will hit the stage with various DJ's and performers, still to be confirmed. |
| Malakai | Reds | Sun | 22:00 - 22:45 | |
myspace | Up-and-comers hailing from Bristol. Sound a bit like a cross between The Music and Groove Armada, who they've been supporting recently. |
| Atavist | Reds | Sun | 23:15 - 00:00 | |
myspace | Heavy Metal, with a twist......of the knife......to your stomach......avoid. |
| Blood Island Raiders | Reds | Sun | 00:30 - 01:30 | |
myspace | Pure adulterated heavy metal. Shame to close the weekend with these, however, lets face it, you'll be watching Aphex Twin anyway. |
Its quite a choice from Portishead. I'd have expected for them to go with mainly electronica bands, but they've picked a completly diverse selection. And some greats like Earth. I like the comment next to Portishead. "If you don’t know about these yet, do not pass ‘go’, do not spend £200." Classic.
hey i'm here at atp now and this little guide is just the dog's wotsits! Shame u couldn't have adapted it for wap tho, the scrolling is insane. Duck Buttons were superb, as were Autolux. Fantastic. Ta-ra!
haha. Duck buttons! You know what i meant. [darn predictive text]
You gave 1 / 2 stars to all the best bands... i'd say your ratings need to be the other way around!
Sunn 0))) are hands-down the worst band I've ever seen perform live. They played before Aphex at ATP 4 years ago and were (unfortunately) not quite drowned out by the people in the audience screaming at them to shut up.
Absolutely miserable pointless rubbish masquerading as the avant-garde. 1 star is about 10 stars too many.
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Freshly processed from the strangeglue.com playlist at Last.fm
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Sharon
commented 6 months ago
Wow, thanks for this, this is soooo handy, but i'm a bit perplexed at the 2 and 1 stars for Earth and Sunno? Legends or what?!